Fortina to pay €8.1 million for its own land

The Fortina Group has issued the following statement: “We refer to a media report published today titled ‘Fortina is to get free rein over land’,which we are sad to note contains inaccuracies that cast Fortel Group in a negative light.

The facts are as follows:

The Group has long been in negotiations with the authorities to lift a restriction on development, other than for touristic purposes, on part of its site, which concerns a circa 1,250sqm landlocked plot that has been owned by Fortina for 30 years.

Following the Group’s application to lift this restriction over two years ago, the Lands Authority carried out a valuation of effecting this change in line with the law. The Authority requested a premium of €8.1 million.

Although Fortina considered this premium to be far in excess of market value, especially considering similar agreements that have been approved by Parliament in the past, the Group decided to meet this request.

A spokesperson for Fortina said: “The premium upon which we agreed works out at circa €6,480 per square metre of buildable area, which is an enormous sum of money especially when one considers that we already have full ownership of the land in question.

“Furthermore, it is pertinent to point out that 85 per cent of this plot will still be occupied by a newly refurbished 5-star hotel and associated amenities, so what we are effectively talking about is a very small landlocked area which is being converted to residential and commercial use.

“The biggest travesty is that the plot was not offered by tender, when we have fully owned the land since the 1990s. It’s truly a shame that such a major investment on our part is being portrayed in a negative manner.”E